


At The End Of The Year

by Tabi



Category: Bakuretsu Hunters | Sorcerer Hunters
Genre: Christmas, Gaterron, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-23
Updated: 2004-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-21 09:16:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/223567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabi/pseuds/Tabi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's coming up to the end of the year, and Marron's sorting out his new year's resolutions. Gateau wonders if he can perhaps help with this; this ends up with the two of them practically challenging each other to change for the better, though from who's perspective 'better' is from is questionable. Can that challenge be resolved...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	At The End Of The Year

Gateau stood at the doorway, silently watching Marron with a private kind of amusement. Usually Marron would have noticed him from the moment he began to walk down the corridor outside, but as things were, Marron was preoccupied with something else, and he hadn't noticed Gateau, not just yet.

Currently, Marron was knelt on the floor of that little side-room at the end of the corridor, the one that faced out to Eden's gardens on two sides, creating quite a spectacular view... as it was, the immediate vicinity seemed covered in a blanket of snow, the scene seeming unbroken from the elevated position. Perhaps footprints had marked the snow sometime earlier, but snow continued to fall and the even sea of white was restored. Somewhere further away was Facade, distant rooftops also covered in snow... Gateau let his view be captured by the impressive natural display outside for a few moments, but lovely as nature was, it wasn't Marron Glacé.

Knelt on the floor, Marron was surrounded by books; several were open around him, probably a dozen more were stacked to each side of him... behind him was a bookcase, completely empty. Totally absorbed by the book he had open in front of him, Marron slowly ran his finger down the page. Gateau watched this movement for a short while, wondering what it was Marron was reading so intently... the text of the book was too small however, Gateau couldn't read it from where he stood. He did, however, notice something else next to Marron, a little further away than one of the open books. A slip of parchment sat, a pencil on top of that - the piece of paper itself was blank though, except for two lines of writing; Gateau's curiosity was sparked slightly, he chose that for a reason to walk forward and make his presence known.

Marron realised he wasn't alone when he heard the door shut sharply; he looked up, noticing Gateau, slightly surprised at the sudden company. Surely he would have noticed somebody joining him...? Obviously not. He tried to make his voice sound light, speaking in greeting.

"Ah... Gateau..."

For a couple of moments Gateau didn't say anything in reply, just approaching Marron then dropping to a crouch about a meter away before saying anything at all.

"You noticed me at last, then? I was standin' there for ages!"

"Oh...! You were...?"

A casual shrug, "Didn't wanna disturb you if you were so busy. Plus it's nice to get an opportunity to stare at you without you hitting me away, isn't it?"

A slight flirtatious note to that; Marron just glared softly, "Gateau..."

The reply to that was only a smile. Marron sighed gently to himself - he couldn't be _angry_ , he couldn't even keep the glare up for as long as he might have liked... he wasn't sure he liked the idea of Gateau staring at him for however long he felt like without he himself being aware of that, but... well, all he'd been doing was sitting there reading, nothing incriminating. Not that he'd even give Gateau the _chance_ to see anything incriminating, but-

Marron realised his thought process was devolving slightly; he shook his head and busied himself with the book in front of him, ears twitching slightly as Gateau spoke again.

"Anyway, what're you up to?"

Without waiting for an answer from Marron, Gateau plucked the paper up, the one that had caught his attention in the first place. The pencil was displaced as he did so, he picked that up quickly before looking at the sheet. Marron's impeccable handwriting, of course... the second line was marked out by a bullet point, it seemed to be a list... Gateau read the first lin _e, 'New Year's Resolut_ ions'. The aforementioned second line read ' _Continue to protect my brother as greatly as I can ma_ nage', and a second bullet point had been left empty. Gateau raised his eyebrow.

"New year's resolutions already?"

"It never hurts to be prepared."

"I... guess... so what's all the books got to do with it?"

While Gateau had been reading the paper, Marron had dropped concentration back to his book. Realising he was being questioned again, Marron glanced up slightly.

"Well... every year I like to set myself a target... all of these magical tomes, so many spells in them, so many techniques I have the potential to master... at the start of each year I like to have a vague idea of what ones I wish to attempt to master over the coming months. Some of them are harder than others, but it's not unrealistic to give each one about a month's study... so I spend the end of each year selecting twelve incantations to mark down for the upcoming year."

"Oh... well, makes sense. What's with this protecting Carrot bit, though? You don't need to _set_ that as a resolution, you already do that all the time anyway!"

Marron's lips curled into a warm smile, "It doesn't hurt to be determined, either. I like to start each new year with determination... if my brother has been hurt so many times in a year, surely I can aim to lessen his pain for the next year? A perfect year would be one where he is not hurt at all... but even one attack can spoil the record, and serve to make me more determined for the next year. Perhaps it should be better that there are no perfect years..."

Gateau placed the paper on top of the closest pile of books, "I don't think it'd ever be possible to protect that guy totally... I mean, the first day of next year he'll be running around getting beat up by women he's after!"

The smile then almost _darkened_ somehow, something that Gateau felt that perhaps he hadn't quite been supposed to witness...

"There is a difference between pain that he will learn from and pain which serves to injure him indiscriminately."

"How... convenient..."

Whether Marron heard that last comment or not, he didn't react to it either way. His eyes seemed to already be following the text of the book in front of him... Gateau looked to the pile of books to his right. Turning his head to the side, he read along the spines of the books; it didn't seem that Marron read any books that were _simple_.

"Jeesh... how do you manage to read any of these?"

"Hm?"

"They're all squiggles and stuff!"

For a second Marron seemed genuinely clueless as to what Gateau spoke about; he blinked as he tried to work out what Gateau was referring to, then realised his gaze was directed towards the books piled up nearby. Supposing it didn't hurt to explain, Marron smiled again.

"Ah... magical tomes are rarely written in our common tongue."

"Jeez..."

"As for how I manage to read them... I was taught the essentials from my Master back when I was a student, I have continued my studies since and now am almost as confident in that language as I am in this..."

"How do you say 'hello' in it, then?"

Marron laughed gently, "It's not _that_ kind of language, Gateau."

Despite the somewhat dry nature of the conversation, Gateau couldn't help but be _slightly_ happy that he'd made Marron laugh... his smile was wonderful to see and his laugh was a little more uncommon, and it was quiet moments like that that he treasured.

"What kind of language is it that can't even say 'hi'?! Man. It's gotta be pretty difficult though, I mean, all of this means nothing to me... and you learn magic and stuff from it? I'd be too worried about reading something wrong and blowing stuff up!"

Supposing he wasn't going to be able to concentrate fully for at least the next few minutes, Marron relaxed in his kneel and rested his hands on his lap.

"When they are words and letters that describe an inner strength... it's hard to describe. Somehow it's a technique of _feeling_ the words more than understanding them... but if I attempted to explain it then likely I'd end up just confusing myself! As for mispronouncing incantations... it's possible, especially when practicing a spell it's easy to make mistakes... but the more I practice, the more my body tunes in to the power that flows with each spell. It becomes easier as I work harder, I suppose you could say. Therefore there isn't any question of falling behind in my studies..."

While Marron spoke, Gateau reached for the paper and pencil once more. Leaning on the pile of books, he quickly scribbled down another two items to Marron's list; Marron peered curiously, quickly taking the paper from Gateau once the pencil was placed back on the floor.

"... ' _Relax_ ' and ' _Loosen up a bit_ '...?"

"Mmm! Sounds like those are things you don't even _think_ about doing!"

Marron blinked owlishly at Gateau, "I- I barely think that I _don't_ find time to relax..."

"Outside of sleeping, I mean. Just doing stuff 'cause it's fun, rather than 'cause it's a spell or something dutiful or anything like that. I'm not saying 'be a slacker' or anything, but... come on, is there anything you do to relax?"

"Ah... well, I cook..."

"For everyone else, right? That's still working!"

"It doesn't really feel like work if it's something you enjoy..."

"All work and no play makes Marron a dull boy!"

Marron raised his eyebrow at that, "You'd call me dull?"

"Well, you're sharper than most of us, but... you're always so focused on doing things like what you're doing at the moment, surely it's not gonna kill you to take just a day or several out and relax? I mean, c'mon, it's christmas in a few days... see, it's not even the new year yet and you're _already_ coming up with resolutions! Big Mama said she'd specially make sure we didn't have any more missions until after the new year, we've got a break for once, and you're just gonna spend it being all studious s'more?"

"You would suggest anything you would prefer I do?"

Gateau pulled a half-pose, "You could come and watch me pose for a day or two!"

"That's something I'm not going to accept and you know it, Gateau."

This time Gateau laughed, "Worth a try, though. But, I'm serious here! Okay, look at it this way; you're all set up for being determined for the new year, right?"

"Right...?"

"Well, surely you've worked reeeal hard all through this year too, riight?"

"Ri... ight...?"

"Just for these last few days of the year, kick back a bit! Run around with the others, buy something lavish and expensive just for yourself and especially not for Carrot... just do stuff for yourself and relax while doing it! Knowing Big Mama, she's probably going to pile on the work after christmas, soo..."

Marron looked up at Gateau with a steady kind of look, "Perhaps you could make some resolutions also."

"What kind of resolutions would I wanna make? I always end up forgettin' 'em by march or so anyway... build up my muscles more? Come up with some even better poses?"

"You can't count those as proper resolutions..."

"Work harder on getting you in the sack? _That's_ a resolution I don't forget about!"

Staring to the side, Marron couldn't fight back a faint blush. He closed his eyes, "Don't suggest something like that so shamelessly!"

Gateau reached out, taking hold of Marron's chin between his thumb and forefinger. Marron opened his eyes on the contact, Gateau took advantage of that and coaxed Marron back into facing him. Maybe it _did_ make Marron angry when he suggested things like that, but it also caused that very slight little blush, and Gateau felt he could put up with annoying Marron when there were smaller things like _that_ to take notice of. Once they were staring at each other, Marron reached up to push Gateau's arm away... Gateau shook his head.

"You're always determined to keep your resolutions, aren't you...?"

A slight nod, "Un..."

"Well, you gotta know by now that I'm a pretty determined person too... I'm not gonna pass something off as being impossible, ever. I mean, for ages Eclair was gone, and maybe it could have seemed hopeless, but we _did_ manage to get her back, and I wouldn't have managed _that_ if I'd just sat back and gone 'oh, it's impossible'... right?"

"Right..."

"After we met, my resolution was to impress you. To get you to notice me. To sleep with you. That's not uncommon knowledge, right?"

Marron's expression hardened, "Saying things so plainly... it's only going to make me more determined to resist you..."

Despite the tone of Marron's voice, his words didn't seem to dissuade Gateau any. Instead, Gateau shifted position, falling out of his crouch onto his knees then reaching forward with his hand again, only this time Marron's face was so close to his own... the books surrounding Marron served as a slight barrier between he and Gateau, but books were only objects that could be moved; Marron pulled back slightly, wondering just what Gateau's motives were for being so close.

That movement seemed to amuse Gateau, somehow. He really _was_ a jittery creature, wasn't he? A smile, "You don't need to get so restless, I'm not gonna kiss you or anything..."

"O-oh..."

"Unless you want me to? I could if you _wanted_ me to. So, just then... you were saying about resisting me, huh...? So you _are_ resisting me..."

"That... that doesn't mean anything... of course I'd want to resist such a frivolous person..."

"Tryin' to hide behind big words again...? Just because I'm energetic doesn't mean I'm not serious about things, Marron. Is there anybody else I'm making resolutions like that about? Anyone else I'm always after?"

Marron didn't have anything to say to that, though that was an obvious point right there; if Gateau was as flirtatious a person as Milphey was or as indiscriminate in his tastes as Carrot could be then perhaps there'd be more reason to worry, but... Gateau _was_ right, there really wasn't anybody else who he noticed or pursued so endlessly, was there?

However, quite what _that_ meant... Marron wasn't sure.

Relaxing back into a seated position, Gateau shrugged and smiled kindly.

"Still, it's also something I always resolved... I'd wanna wait for you. I mean... I'd maybe try to persuade you and everything, but I'd never try to take a kiss - or anything else - from you if you were just blankly sitting there. Never know when I'm gonna make you angry, do I?"

The mood broken somewhat, Marron couldn't help a smile himself.

"As I was going to say before... other than those you mentioned... perhaps you should take a suggested resolution from me, if you're going to try to put down suggestions for me..."

"Yeah? I'm listenin'."

"Why don't you make a resolution to restrain yourself?"

"Hah, seems like we want the opposite from each other, doesn't it? You want me to calm it, I want you to liven up a bit... and what would you do if I _did_ restrain myself? Would it get me anywhere?"

That was something Marron wasn't sure about. It _did_ annoy him when Gateau made such straightforward comments, acted so sure about himself and the fact that he _would_ get Marron in bed one day... being so presumptuous only served to make Marron more determined that Gateau wouldn't get his way, but compared to that... perhaps if it was something he didn't seem to take for granted...

Well. Marron wasn't sure. It wasn't something he liked to preoccupy his thoughts with.

"Ah... I couldn't say."

"Well, if you wanted to, maybe I could give it a try..."

"Oh...?"

"But, we _do_ still have at least a week and a half before we start thinking about our resolutions, right? 'Cept for you, you're always planning things in advance. So if I'm gonna be being a bit quieter next year I should make the most of these days left, right?"

Marron was shuffling books back into their places, putting two back on the shelf and drawing his piece of paper back towards him.

"Don't let it seem like I'm telling you to do anything, Gateau. Just do what you feel like... I don't have any control over you."

He spoke easily enough to try to dissuade Gateau - much as Gateau could be annoying at times he really didn't want Gateau to change his behaviour if it was only for his benefit; after all, he couldn't guarantee his feelings going one way or the other whether Gateau was loud or quiet, and he didn't really want to raise Gateau's hopes... after that, Gateau stood up and made his way over to the door of the room. Marron assumed that that was that, but it seemed that Gateau wanted the last word.

"You do... have a _bit_ of control over me..."

"Gateau?"

After saying that, Gateau's expression seemed slightly troubled. He shook his head.

"No... it's nothing."

With that, he left the room. Marron frowned slightly at that, unsure of what to make of Gateau's words or behaviour... just then or in general...

The books still lay on the floor. Marron sighed to himself, feeling that he should pull himself together. Between wondering quite what Gateau's motives were and what hidden meanings his words may have contained and sorting out his learning schedule for the next year, the former certainly wasn't going to get him anywhere. Worrying about Gateau could come later.

****

A couple of days on from that point came the questionable highlight of the year, the Sorcerer Hunters' annual christmas party. If anything, the girls especially liked running around decorating any part of Eden they could get their hands on with tinsel and baubles in the days approaching christmas, and given that Dota and Sirius had wings, this made them invaluable when it came to reaching those spots that nobody else could... so as it was, most of the corridors and rooms were hung with tinsel or various festive plants, the main hall had one huge tree that apparently the Haz Knights had helped to bring in (though nobody had seen them do so) and then some other smaller trees brought in by Gateau and decorated eagerly by the Misu sisters...

So the day itself had been eventful enough, everybody had enjoyed their presents and Marron had been somewhat shocked at the six-foot high teddybear somebody had bought him; no label, but Gateau cracking up in the corner had been pretty much telltale of who was responsible. Gateau had just wanted to see the look on Marron's face, and it _had_ been quite priceless, apparently. Besides, as Gateau kept reminding Marron... it wasn't new year's day yet, was it? There was still time to be frivolous.

It wasn't as if the oversized bear wasn't _cute_ , after all. Shock aside, Marron had to admit that it had quite a nice face. He just wasn't quite sure where in his bedroom there'd be room to _put_ the thing...

Presents had been opened and food had been eaten... as the evening approached, food was _still_ being eaten. Big Mama had as much food as the residents of Eden felt they wanted to eat, she was quite determined for everybody to be happy and contented... the Haz Knights mingled with the Sorcerer Hunters, and while Kahlua seemed a bit intimidating, Shiffon seemed quite amiable with the teenagers. Milphey leapt around as he was apt to do so, and Cinnamon took her time sampling all the different foods laid out on the tables, hopefully before everybody else ate everything, but she couldn't help it if she couldn't get from one end of the hall to the other very quickly...

Either somebody had given it to her or she'd found it herself, but somehow, Chocolat had got hold of some mistletoe. Armed and ready, she was taking the opportunity to chase Carrot around the hall, much to Tira's consternation and Milphey's amusement; Gateau and Marron sat to the side, taking a moment out to relax and enjoy the atmosphere.

"They're certainly quite energetic, aren't they...?"

Gateau nodded with a smile, "Well, Chocolat always is, isn't she? As long as she has the energy to chase after that brother of yours, he's still gonna have the energy to run away. I wonder where she got the mistletoe from..."

"Why would you wonder something like that...?"

"Oh, just curious, just curious. Anyway! You liked the bear, then?"

"I... I was shocked, but... yes, he's quite sweet."

"Ha ha, I'm glad. Definitely not a present you'll forget about in a hurry, right? So what are you gonna call him?"

Marron looked up, "Call him?"

"Yeeah! You can't have a big cute thing like him and _not_ give him a name, right? Hmmm... let's come up with a name. David? Michael? Russell? Colin? Alfred?"

"Such strange names..."

"Okay then, what would _you_ call it?"

"Ah... well... I've never really named a... toy before..."

"Really? Man! When I was a kid I had this bear I took everywhere with me, I called him Cucumber. Eclair kept pulling at him and once his arm came off, but... well... he... got put back together..."

A slight moment of contemplation; obviously a memory of so long ago... who else would have mended a broken teddy but a mother, and of course, given what happened to Gateau's parents... Marron wasn't quite sure what to say, but then something occurred to him.

"... Did you... call him Cucumber because he was... green?"

Gateau's voice was knowingly amused, "You've seen him in my bedroom, haven't you?"

"I _wondered_ why there was a bear sitting on your wardrobe... I assumed it was something that belonged to Eclair..."

"Cucumber stays with me! Hey, maybe your bear could be Cucumber's massive but younger brother. Hmm... Tomato? Lettuce? Cress? I still think Alfred sounds cute. Alfred and Cucumber. Yeah! Go for that!"

Marron supposed there wasn't any way to argue with Gateau, and he also supposed that Alfred _was_ a cute enough name for the big bear. A somewhat strange name, but then again, it was a somewhat strange present. He nodded, "Alright, alright. His name is Alfred."

Gateau clapped his hands together happily, "Great! You'll have to write that on his nametag later, make it official."

The atmosphere was pleasant. The conversation was an easy one, and somehow Marron found himself indeed feeling at ease... he almost didn't like to admit it, but the last couple of days had been quite, quite relaxing. After selecting the twelve incantations he'd study over the course of the upcoming year, Marron had thought about the things that Gateau had said. At the very least, it was a sensible idea to relax... there was a slight feeling of wanting everything to be prepared in time for the new year, but on the other hand the new year would bring missions which brought their own kind of stress, and then it would be time to see if Marron could keep his resolutions... they had perhaps a week left until new year's day, and then any time after that was due for a mission.

Perhaps it didn't hurt to relax just _slightly_.

So Marron had taken small steps. He'd even tried sleeping in, though _that_ didn't come easily... and after a while Carrot had woken up and been worried to find Marron not awake before him - that _never_ happened! So he'd just explained that he was trying to take a lie-in, and Carrot left him to his bed. He hadn't managed to get back to sleep, but it _had_ been nice to relax in bed while awake for an hour or so longer than he usually did...

Somehow, Gateau had also seemed more agreeable for it. Marron didn't know if it was just his current good mood shedding a positive light on things or whether Gateau was consciously watching his words, but... there hadn't been anything Gateau had said in the past couple of days that had made Marron want to hit him, and that was surely a good sign, if nothing else. Of course, there had been the matter of the bear, but that hadn't been annoying... more surprising. It wasn't as if the giving of the bear held any kind of 'please sleep with me' implication.

Watching Carrot dash from one end of the main hall to the other with the Misu sisters and Milphey on his tail, Marron couldn't help but think that he'd slightly miss such things once christmas was over. Of course, Chocolat, Tira and Milphey would yell and shout and chase Carrot at any time of year, but there was just some kind of _feeling_ that Marron had that made this time of year feel just a _little_ different...

Marron felt a finger prod the side of his head, "... Hey."

"Ah?"

"You don't need to look so shocked...! I was just wonderin' what you were thinkin' about... you had a warm look on your face all of a sudden."

Of course, it had been Gateau. Marron blinked at him in momentary recollection of what he'd been thinking about... the warm smile was replaced as he remembered.

"I was just thinking... I like this atmosphere. Everybody's so lighthearted... there's no impending threat or danger, and everybody can relax..."

"Even you?"

Marron couldn't help a slight laugh, "Even me."

Gateau stretched leisurely, "Well, if it's making even you all relaxed and happy then it's gotta be a good thing, hasn't it? Aaaah. It's a good time of year. Just wish the break could last longer, but... that's how it is, I guess."

"Just as long as we make the most of the holiday that we do have, I think it'll be alright."

"Mm, you're right. Better than having no holiday at all, isn't it?"

Another lull in the conversation. Marron looked around the room, enjoying the feeling of being able to watch everybody else. Big Mama was near the far tables, talking quietly with Sirius, Dota and Eclair... every once in a while Dota and Big Mama would laugh quite loudly, and Sirius would seem somehow embarrassed. Milphey, Carrot and the Misu sisters were still chasing each other around... Kahlua and Shiffon were stood against another section of the tables. It seemed that Shiffon was passing Kahlua different kinds of food to try... Cinnamon would wander back and forth, the three of them - or at least Shiffon and Cinnamon - seemed to be involved in some kind of conversation. Then Shiffon said something, and - was he hand-feeding Kahlua? That seemed an awfully familiar thing to be doing... Kahlua would just stand there, Shiffon would laugh, and they'd move on to something different. Marron kept one eyebrow slightly raised... well, he couldn't tell what other people got up to in private.

Suddenly, however, Milphey took a sudden detour from where he was dashing around, chasing Carrot... he sped over to where Marron and Gateau were sat, and Marron's eyes widened just slightly as he realised that Chocolat wasn't the _only_ one armed with mistletoe...

"Marron-chan, Gateau-chan! You're sitting over here so quietly!"

One hand behind his back, that hand contained the mistletoe. Marron watched him warily; obviously he was going for a surprise attack... Gateau just nodded, "We were just having a rest, really. Besides, it's tiring enough watching you running around! Marron thought it'd be nice to watch the atmosphere or whatever, so I was just taking some time out too for that..."

"Oho... I see..."

Milphey had a sneaky tone to his voice. He made as if to turn around and walk back off towards the main activity of the hall, but instead he ran quickly behind Marron and Gateau's chairs and struck out the hand he'd been holding behind his back, the one with the mistletoe in it; Gateau had been watching Milphey's sudden exit, Marron could only notice the little plant suspended from Milphey's hand above he and Gateau... Milphey sounded entirely shocked.

"Oh _my_! My my _my_! Where did _this_ come from!? Magically some mistletoe has appeared between Marron-chan and Gateau-chan! What will happen next?! Might Gateau-chan kiss Marron-chan? Might a sudden and mysterious love blossom on this wonderful christmas day?"

He waved his hand to emphasize the mistletoe.

"Come on, come on! You can't sit directly under mistletoe and _not_ kiss, that's just not the done thing! You can't ignore it or pretend you didn't see it, because I saw it all clearly! And oh look, it's even attached to my hand!"

Gateau was far too amused by Milphey's antics to really seriously consider kissing Marron, "You can't say it mysteriously appeared if it's on your hand!"

"Maybe I didn't put it there! It mysteriously appeared, on my hand!"

Marron was just looking to the side, quietly contemplating his own thoughts. Of course, he'd never indulge in such a silly tradition... whoever came up with such an idea in the first place? What was it about mistletoe that made people want to kiss beneath it _anyway_?

A silly tradition...

Somehow, Marron had echoes of things Gateau had said earlier going through his mind; of course, Marron was dull like that, wasn't he? He wasn't the kind of person who'd run around decorating or chasing anybody with mistletoe, and if somebody _did_ corner him with mistletoe he'd only dodge it... he'd never come up with any fantastically strange gift ideas, his presents to other people were usually tasteful and pleasant and _normal_...

Besides, Gateau and Milphey would only tease him until the new year and beyond if Marron easily dodged the implication... the mistletoe still hung above he and Gateau...

In all honesty, Marron had only meant to bump lips with Gateau's cheek to continue in line with his theory of taking small steps, but he _had_ had to pick just the moment when Gateau had been going to turn around to him to talk to take _that_ into action... Gateau's words froze in his mouth and Marron froze in his chair when he realised his miscalculation, and the fact that his lips were quite definitely pressed to Gateau's own.

Milphey, of course, had a field day.

"Oh _MY_! Marron-chan taking the initiative!"

Gateau pulled away quickly, "Ahaha, Marron, what are you trying to do..."

He would be the coy one all of a sudden? That seemed interesting. Perhaps he was worried about making any kind of comment in case it angered Marron any, but... well, perhaps a smartass comment _would_ have annoyed Marron, but somehow the opposite only incensed Marron further; his expression relaxed slightly and he leant over the side of his chair, one hand against Gateau's shoulder and the other against Gateau's warm cheek... that time he really did mean to catch Gateau on the lips, and he succeeded quite wonderfully.

On that action, Milphey took a quiet step away from the chairs, supposing it would be better to leave Marron and Gateau to it. He giggled to himself and quickly padded back over to the middle of the room to alert absolutely everybody else to what was happening on the far edge of the hall. Marron, kissing somebody! Kissing another man! Kissing _Gateau_! How fun! Milphey couldn't wait to see everybody's reactions.

For a moment, Gateau seemed to be too shocked to do anything; Marron kissing him so suddenly? Had somebody spiked Marron's fruit juice? He just didn't _do_ things like that! Then he was aware of lips opening wider against him and a warm tongue wishing to seek something between his own lips, and he supposed he could either sit there and show Marron just what it was like to kiss a statue, or react as, perhaps, Marron might have wanted him to. He didn't want to scare Marron or make him angry, especially when he seemed so relaxed these past couple of days... but on the other hand, surely Marron wouldn't be so much of a tease to overtly kiss somebody then punish them for it?

The kiss continued on in it's own slow and steady way until Marron was conscious of the fact that he and Gateau had an audience.

"WOOO MARRON-CHAN GATEAU-CHAN WOOO!!"

"KYAAAAA!!"

At that point, both of them froze; it seemed that even Chocolat and Carrot had stopped their energetic chasing, and they - as well as most everybody else in the hall - had their eyes fixed on Marron and Gateau. Marron made a small noise, then pulled away quickly from Gateau, clearing his throat and suddenly finding something very interesting about his feet that caused him to stare at them intently. Milphey's call carried across the hall, "Awwww...! You don't need to stop on _our_ account!"

The fact that Marron and Gateau had kissed and that it had been a _proper_ kiss with tongues and _everything_ became the primary gossip for the remainder of the evening. Gateau said little on the subject and Marron said even less, but it remained on both of their minds quite equally even as the party began to wind to a close.

****

Night had fallen over Eden. The food was mostly eaten, people were full and exhausted, and all that was left of the day seemed to be to carry presents back upstairs and start preparing for the next party, which would be the new year's eve celebration. No rest for the wicked, and the more parties the better seemed to be the motto of Eden for that holiday.

Marron led the way up the stairs for Gateau, who was walking carefully up the stairs. He held presents in bags hanging off both of his arms, and on his back lay Alfred, who was Gateau's passenger for the time being. As they reached the top of the stairs, Gateau sighed with relief.

"Whew, all these presents are heavier than they look. 'Specially _this_ guy! Sheesh! Why couldn't you have carried him?"

"Isn't it the gentlemanly thing to do, to carry all of the presents...?"

Gateau couldn't shake the feeling he had that Marron was playing with him somehow, but he ignored that, "Perhaps so but it sure woulda been cute to see you makin' your way up the stairs with this massive bear on your back..."

"You cut quite the picture yourself, Gateau."

"Thanks, I think. Do you wanna carry him the last bit of the way? Then at least I can look at him and be a bit jealous!"

"Hm?"

"Getting to be on your back, that's a pretty prized position there, isn't it?"

"Ga-Gateau..."

Gateau laughed loudly, "Well, it had to be said. Anyway, where do you wanna put this guy? Wanna put him directly into your bedroom?"

Marron stood still for a few moments while he considered this, "Perhaps we should put him in the empty room just along this corridor, for the time being... I think I need to perhaps rearrange where things are in my bedroom before I can put him somewhere safely."

A nod, "Sounds good. This room here?"

Walking along the corridor a little further, Gateau indicated to one of the doors. Marron nodded his approval, Gateau opened the door and walked inside, ducking beneath the doorframe to allow both he and Alfred to pass through unharmed. Marron followed in after them.

The room itself was dark to match the advancement of hours; not a bedroom, but one of the rooms that was generally used for relaxing, sitting around in, talking, playing board games... while Gateau deposited Alfred and the other presents next to the sofa, Marron walked over to the closed balcony window. He reached for the catch and pulled the glass door open, feeling the sudden chill of the cold outer air on his skin; Gateau looked up on hearing the noise, "Hey Marron, don't spend too much time out there, you'll catch a cold!"

Marron was leant against the balcony rail now, "It.. _is_ quite cold... however, I wanted to just see what it was like outside, just for a moment..."

He remained there and the room remained silent for however long Marron considered his moment to be, then he walked back inside and closed the door behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he nodded to himself and walked over to the nearby window. Almost the same view, but less of the freezing weather.

Gateau just watched as Marron looked at the outside scenery. He walked over himself, bending down slightly to look out of the window... the gardens from that angle were just as snow-covered as any other part of the garden was, and another snowfall throughout the day had only emphasized this. They'd been lucky, it'd snowed most every day of their break... sometimes the sun would come out and the snow would begin to melt, but by the morning, the unbroken beauty of the snow would be replaced. The first day of the holiday had been when Carrot had decided it would be great fun to commence a snowball fight... Marron smiled softly at the thought. He'd eventually decided this hadn't been such a great idea after Gateau had unleashed his Hugeassed Monster Snowball, and Carrot had ended up quite literally snowed under... he'd taken a lot of hot baths after that. Marron wouldn't have been surprised if Carrot's cough would develop into a cold over the next couple of days... but if Carrot was ill, then Marron could only look after him...

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Marron glanced over his shoulder again, realised that Gateau was also admiring the view, then nodded.

"It is, isn't it... looking at a view like this, it's quite calming. It makes me wonder what kind of day everybody else had..."

"What, you mean that lot you spent the day with?"

"Well... in a way, but... also everybody in Facade. Everybody on the Continent. Even Sorcerers would wish to have a lavish christmas, wouldn't they? So rarely are there any instances of trouble at this time of year. Some kind of feeling seems to descend over everybody and even the most troublesome Sorcerers can cease their actions for these few weeks..."

"Mmm, it is pretty wonderful, isn't it? Pretty lucky we have something like christmas really, isn't it?"

Marron nodded, "It is, but... somehow I... somehow, I can't help but become just a little melancholy over christmas, especially in quiet moments such as this..."

It seemed that Marron was getting ready to say something introspective. Gateau wondered if that was the right moment to do something, to do _anything_... he closed the last few steps between he and Marron and put his arm over Marron's shoulders. He wasn't shaken away.

"You shouldn't get sad at a time like this!"

"Gateau... do you know _why_ we celebrate christmas?"

Gateau frowned, "To get each other presents? To have a holiday? To relax?"

"I mean, why do we celebrate it in the first place? Where did the idea of it come from?"

"Uh... huh. I dunno. It's just been one of those things that's always been, hasn't it? Like celebrating the new year, or having a big party where everybody gets drunk on Saint Mother's Day... why, is there some big significant reason why we should be celebrating that we've all missed the point of?"

Marron shook his head, "There doesn't seem to be, that's the _point_. I... can only say the things that I've heard, but... we've been celebrating for as long as we can remember, but the very idea of it was discovered from the ruins of a time before we existed..."

"Isn't that what tradition is, though? Something that carries on and on and on..."

Another shaking of the head, but this time Marron smiled.

"I suppose... it just makes me think, when it's quiet like this. The people we essentially lifted this celebration from... I wonder what kind of things _they_ would have celebrated... perhaps they had more reason than we do, but... it's hard to explain. A whole civilization was destroyed so far back in the past that we can't even imagine it, but still we have a remainder of their culture that we still celebrate. It's almost amazing... and it makes me wonder, were our entire generation to be destroyed suddenly, what kind of legacy would _we_ leave..."

Gateau knocked at Marron's shoulder, "These are the sorts of things you think about at christmas? Jeez, no wonder you're always so uptight! 'Oh, christmas is wonderful but wouldn't it be terrible if everybody died'!? Just think about nice things like presents and parties, honestly!"

"As I said, it's only when it becomes quiet that my thoughts become preoccupied... and when you sleep in the same room as somebody who potentially has the power to bring about such destruction, well... sometimes I can't help but think about things like that."

"That's way too depressing. Let's do something to lift the mood! Hmmm... I know! Hug Alfred."

"Ah-?"

"Yeah! I got him for you 'cause I thought he'd be cute and you'd like him, so since I got him for you I wanna see you hug him!"

Gateau stood up straight, his hands on his hips. He watched Marron with a wide smile; it seemed that Marron was having problems coping with this sudden idea... Gateau laughed, "It's not _that_ hard! You just go up to him and go--!"... He illustrated this with an enthusiastic arm gesture.

Marron half-glared up at Gateau, "I _do_ know how to hug something, Gateau..."

"Then go do it! I wanna see it, it'll be damn cute!"

Supposing there wasn't really a reason to refuse, Marron decided it wouldn't hurt just to hug the thing. Besides, Gateau _had_ bought it for him, perhaps it would have seemed somehow ungrateful not to be seen appreciating it... he walked over to the huge bear, and knelt in front of him. Sat like that, his head only came up to the huge bear's chest... he leant forward, wrapping his arms over the fuzzy shoulders. The bear really _was_ soft; Marron overbalanced slightly, and ended up fully leant against Alfred.

"Aaah-!"

Gateau had been busy at the fire grate in the middle of the far wall of the room; as Marron fell forward, the fire came to life. Hearing the slight cry, Gateau looked over his shoulder. He looked around just in time to catch a view of Marron sprawled over the bear, and shaking... shaking with laughter? Gateau brought himself into a seated position in front of the fire, and Marron _was_ laughing. Well, it was quite an amusing pose to have ended up in... Gateau laughed quietly to himself, feeling warmed.

Marron picked himself up enough to be able to talk coherently to Gateau without risking mouthfuls of fur, "Oh, oh... Gateau, he really _is_ soft!"

"I'm glad! So, you like him, then?"

"I have to admit it... I do, yes. Ha ha... he's so big I should perhaps move my bed out of my room and use him to sleep on instead... he's certainly soft enough..."

There was something quite irresistible about being able to watch Marron like that. Him _really_ enjoying the present Gateau had got for him... he'd been introspective just earlier, and now he seemed so relaxed... and it was such a nice thing to see, Marron relaxing and really smiling like that. And still hugging Alfred.

Picking himself up from beside the fire, Gateau walked across the room to join Marron and his fuzzy friend.

"If you did that I really _would_ be jealous! Man, if I knew you woulda reacted so well to something big and soft like that I woulda bought a bear suit or something, then at least you coulda thought _I_ was cute and fuzzy!"

"I think it'd be quite different if the bear was _you_ , Gateau."

Gateau snickered, "I guess it would be. Even if I got the fuzziest bear suit ever, I'm not made out of fluff, I couldn't be _that_ comfortable. Though I sure wouldn't mind if you wanted to find out, of course!"

Marron pulled himself back into his previous kneel, "He really is lovely, though. I was quite shocked at first, but... I am glad you got him for me."

"Well, I'm glad if you're glad. But jeez, you're gonna end up loving the bear more than me, aren't you!"

"Ah...?"

"You gonna end up kissing him next?"

At that point, Marron's faint little blush returned. He looked away from Gateau, who nodded.

"Bet you wondered when I was gonna bring _that_ up, huh?"

"Well... I thought that you might..."

"Of course I'm gonna! I mean... well... I'm not _arguing_ or anything, but I mean... it _was_ a pretty sudden thing for you to do! It was pretty predictable that we'd get leapt at with mistletoe at _some_ point, though I kinda thought if anything Milphey'd probably wanna kiss you or something... I thought you'd just wave it off, though!"

"Yes... I thought you might think that... somehow, I... I just had a slight feeling that... that I wanted to surprise you. I didn't want to try to dodge the situation like you'd assume that I would... I didn't want you and Milphey to laugh about how I'd just proved what a dull person I really am..."

The memory sparked in Gateau's mind slightly, "You're still smartin' over that? I didn't mean anything by it! Heh, so I guess you only did it so you wouldn't get laughed at, huh..."

"No, no, it wasn't only that... it'd be somewhat callous to do something over a matter of pride, I think... I... wouldn't have done it if it was entirely something I hadn't wanted to do..."

"So you are really trying to loosen up already, aren't you? Well, that can only be a good thing..."

Marron smiled softly, "Just as long as we have a holiday... you said it yourself, it's better to relax, isn't it? So... while we still have time to ourselves... while we can still relax without worry of missions or impending danger... if I can sleep for just an hour longer, then that's a little more rest than I would have had otherwise. If I can still surprise you, then somehow that's enjoyable in itself..."

"Just as long as we still have a holiday..."

"Once we have missions once more, there'll be more things to focus on..."

Gateau moved over to hold Marron by the shoulders again. Marron assumed he was going to say something while comfortably close like that, but then there was further pressure and Marron found himself on the floor with Gateau beside him; he blinked.

"... Gateau?"

"If it's only for the holiday, then... maybe we gotta take advantage of it, right?"

"... Perhaps..."

There was a moment of silence, a moment where the two of them held each other's gaze and just _couldn't_ look away... if there was any time for Marron to refuse, to get angry, to blush and look away and say that he didn't want Gateau saying or doing anything shameless like usual, then that was the moment for it. Gateau watched Marron intently, waiting for something like that, _anything_ like that... he didn't want to risk things and he certainly didn't want to risk Marron's anger, but all Marron had said was one word that could, perhaps, have been taken in the affirmative... and he just lay there, staring back at Gateau. He was an impossible person to read and Gateau couldn't even begin to guess what was working behind those eyes... but as for what was in front of those eyes, well, Marron was staring at Gateau and he seemed to be waiting for _something_. Waiting for him? For Gateau?

Somewhat haltingly, Gateau dropped down so that he lay next to Marron, gently nuzzling himself between Marron's neck and his shoulder... hair was carefully brushed to the side, and Gateau nestled against the cloth of the collar that covered Marron's neck... Gateau pressed kisses against the edge of the fabric, running his lips and teeth against any exposed flesh they could find... gentle, delicate movements. Somehow even such slight movements caused Marron to make sounds in consequence, tiny and short but real and _there_... Gateau didn't know if he wanted to dare move to undo the catches that prevented him from moving further, but it seemed that Marron felt more desperation for that than was outwardly obvious. Marron's left hand quickly shot to his neck, fumbling quickly with the loops and threads... without the use of both hands or the capability of sight, he didn't seem to be getting anywhere too quickly. Gateau noticed this and decided it'd be alright to lend his hand to the task... the collar fell open, and Marron's hands went to the first catch of his robe, the second... tugging at the robe parted the material and exposed more skin, Gateau watching with intent fascination. Marron noticed this, the blush he held growing only deeper.

It wasn't as if Gateau had never seen Marron naked before. Of course, that was the beauty of hot springs, of sleeping in the forests, in taking those long missions that would usually contain at least one or two opportunities for Gateau's fantasies to be fuelled... past memory danced through Gateau's mind, but somehow the situations were incomparable. Relaxing in a hot spring was lovely and Gateau liked to imagine he could still imagine the pitch of Marron's heady moan as he'd lowered himself into the hot water, but this and that were quite different, and this had a sensuality that that situation hadn't...

Able to access more of Marron's neck, Gateau continued with his light kisses, nipping occasionally at the skin. For Marron's skin to be marked... Gateau felt a guilty little urge rise within him. Marron's skin was always so pale and he was the type of person who always seemed so pure... to leave bites and bruises on his skin, even if they were ones that would always be covered by clothing... for them to exist was proof that Marron was not quite the innocent and proof of the places he would have let Gateau roam... and oh, how many places would there be to explore over the surface of Marron's body? Anywhere that could be marked or nicked or sucked, Gateau wanted to lay claim to. Even if it was just for now, just for the holiday, proof would remain for slightly longer... Gateau bit down against Marron's shoulder, sucking powerfully all of a sudden. Marron let out a louder cry, enough so for Gateau to look up; teethmarks were evident on Marron's skin.

"Was that... too hard...?"

Seeming surprised to hear Gateau's voice, Marron looked up and shook his head.

"No... no... I just... I suppose I never thought of the practicalities of such things... never wondered what such a kiss would feel like... I was surprised, I suppose..."

"Ah..."

Supposing he could only continue, Gateau moved to Marron's jawline, just beneath his chin... reflex tempted Marron into pushing his chin down, but Gateau's head between his chest and jaw prevented this... he shuddered slightly, abstractly picking at the other loops and cords that kept the top half of his robe in place. He didn't quite like to admit the effect Gateau's touch was having on him, but... perhaps it was the easygoing atmosphere the entire holiday so far had had, perhaps it was the reduced light of the fire-illuminated night casting feeling upon him, but... at that moment, Marron couldn't help but wonder. Why had he never seriously considered this before? Why had he always written Gateau's actions off as being frivolous, as if he did it only to make fun of Marron than for any other reason...? Obviously Gateau had some kind of feeling... and as of that moment, Marron had quite a few feelings of his own coursing throughout his body. He didn't know just what it was that made his neck so sensitive, but as Gateau's kisses moved down to his chest, Marron found his breathing somewhat harried.

Gateau shifted so that rather than beside Marron, he was crouched over him. Like that he could easily part the fabric of Marron's robe, and it was easy enough to pull Marron's arms free... the robe lay beneath them, still trapped by the purple sash, but that wasn't to be considered so quickly.

"Hy-AAHN..."

Marron found himself crying out somewhat louder as one of Gateau's nipping kisses aimed itself at his right nipple. Sucking so strongly against it... Gateau sucked on one as he pinched against the other, feeling the pulse of Marron's heart nearby and the heavy rhythm of Marron's breathing somewhere closer. He circled the fleshy bud with his tongue, flicked it back and forth, pulled away and licked it strongly... Marron leant to the side now, staring off across the room as he tried to keep some kind of concentration. It wasn't just what Gateau was doing to his nipples that flushed him so furiously, though that was certainly part of it; just... the way Gateau was crouched over him, the way his heat seemed to surround Marron's body... Gateau's body felt warm and Marron's felt hotter to his own mind. Arousal was definite within him, and it seemed that every way Gateau moved or shifted seemed to only intensify this... as he moved further down Gateau seemed to brush against Marron's clothed erection almost by accident - did he even notice he did that? Marron couldn't _not_ notice, and his lower stomach sent quick impulses of anticipation as Gateau tongued a trail further... further... came to the sash, fingers quickly worked against that... Marron pointedly looked away, he couldn't hide the fact that he was so very aroused, now... not that he would have _wanted_ to hide that... not that he felt he could _ever_ have hidden that... but didn't Gateau realise that it was just a _bit_ embarrassing...

Fortunately Gateau didn't say anything teasing, though the way he was staring at the rise between Marron's legs, he _had_ noticed and Marron could only gasp his feeling on realising that. Then Gateau's hand stroked over his crotch and Marron couldn't fight a sudden cry.

"AH-!"

"... That's sensitive too, huh..."

"Of... of _course_..."

The pitch of Marron's exclamation had been quite interesting, to Gateau. Of course it was going to be sensitive if you were so horny and it was somebody else touching it, but... well. Gateau gently tugged at the edge of Marron's trousers, taking hold of anything that came between Marron's skin and the outside air and working it away as he spoke, talking far too lightly for Marron to feel he could trust him...

"Makes me wonder..."

"U-uhn...?"

"Gettin' so flushed over even just little kisses and stuff... gettin' so loud at just one touch... when _is_ the last time you came, I wonder..."

Coming out with such a question so suddenly...! Marron frowned briefly, "That... that doesn't have anything to do with this..."

"No, but I'm just curious... I mean, you gotta at some point, don't you? I don't think someone _couldn't_ , anyway... I mean... even _you_ gotta get horny sometimes, right?"

Marron couldn't meet Gateau's line of sight, "... about... probably... two weeks... two weeks ago, I think... it was before the holidays..."

"Man, you keep it in for so long!"

"It's not... it's not something I consider worth risking waking my brother up for..."

That made sense. Gateau tutted, "Tch... just 'cause of Carrot you gotta hold yourself back all the time? Well, Carrot's not around at the moment, is he... I guess 'cause of that you never let yourself get too carried away. Heh, makes me think... one of those ol' resolutions I made ages back... figured it'd be nice to get you screaming my name... had that as a resolution one year, 'get Marron screaming my name'. You probably got mad at me during that year... never managed it how I thought about all the time, though."

Marron's voice was barely above a whisper, "... perhaps I _have_ thought about you..."

And that was interesting, "... Oh?"

A nod and a weak smile, "... There's... nobody else I would think about, is there...?"

Glancing down momentarily, Gateau realised he'd been halfway between taking Marron's undergarments off; a pause in the slight conversation as he pulled them further, exposing Marron's erection to the room. He tugged the trousers further, down to the wraps of Marron's ankles... he pulled those away, Marron's shoes following soon after that. And there... Marron was naked. Gateau smirked.

"I dunno, there's anybody you could think about... maybe you'd have the hots for Tira or Chocolat? Maybe Milphey? I don't know how your mind works."

"I... I suppose..."

Marron's unfinished sentence hung in the air as Gateau took a moment to really _look_ at Marron. He really _was_ beautiful... Gateau knelt back, realising just how constricting his own clothes felt all of a sudden. Marron was pale and blushing, leant back against his robes and the dark carpet... light and shadow played against his body, light primarily obscured by Gateau sat in front of him but there was still the flicker of the fire opposite reflected in Marron's eyes... letting out a deep breath, Gateau found himself shudder alongside it. Nobody could be more beautiful than that.

Then to think that this vision of beauty in front of him had quite possibly masturbated to thought of Gateau himself before...! That was a far too potent thought, that and thinking about Marron's soft voice caught around the vowels of Gateau's name... yes, clothes were far too restrictive. Gateau quickly set about getting rid of his own shirt, his jeans... his buckle didn't seem to want to comply and he felt only the more flustered for having Marron laid out in front of him, watching him with such serene eyes... then a smile... he was sitting up, now...

"Here... I should perhaps help you..."

"Ah-... yeah, if you want-..."

Gateau knelt still as he watched Marron's lithe fingers working against his belt, working free the little button, unzipping the zip... even _he_ blushed, he quite usually wore a thong in everyday life and this did absolutely nothing (in fact, it had quite the opposite effect) to hide Gateau's sizeable erection. It was better now that those tight jeans weren't holding him back, that'd been almost painful, but that silent moment where Marron was staring at his crotch... he shuffled away, quickly pulling down his jeans and thong. Marron seemed... amused, suddenly?

"... Gateau..."

"Hmn?"

"For a moment there... were you... embarrassed?"

There were two 'clunk' sounds as Gateau tossed his boots carelessly to somewhere else in the room.

"Well, thongs were never supposed to hide boners, were they? I'm just glad the thing didn't break..."

"Hmhm, I suppose you're right."

Gateau paused as he pulled his socks off. Marron was now sat with his legs curled around him... he was still naked, still sporting his own erection, but his little amused expression... there was something relaxed about the atmosphere of the room. Gateau wondered if it'd be difficult to work things back up to the sexy desperation they'd had a few moments previously, but... it was somehow nice to see that Marron could be relaxed even while naked. Especially while naked, especially in such a situation...! Then Marron looked up, and his eyes were serious.

"Gateau... this is going to end with... ah..."

"Sex?"

"Well... _yes_... I mean... that is... if that was the direction you were heading towards..."

"No, I was going to work you up to an inch before the brink then leave you to sleep for the night. Of course I was working towards that kind of direction..."

Marron ignored the sarcasm and nodded, "Indeed. Therefore... the lamp next to that table by the window..."

Turning around, Gateau could see the aforementioned lamp.

"What about it?"

"It's an oil lamp... is it not?"

"Might be, why?"

"If not oil, what else would you use... as... the girth is... somewhat... impressive..."

"... _oh_... oh... oh yeah..."

Gateau quickly scrabbled to his feet, making his way over to the table that Marron had spoken about. Of course, there'd need to be _something_... Gateau had a little daydream of the different ways Marron could possibly prepare that wouldn't involve the use of any outside lubricant, but as he picked up the lamp to check that it _was_ an oil lamp and that there _was_ appropriate oil left in it, Gateau wasn't quite sure of what he could ask Marron to do, quite what he'd be willing to go for... even if it had a practical use, Gateau didn't want to suggest anything that would possibly annoy or disgust his potential lover. Some people had such funny attitudes when it came to sexual matters, and Gateau really didn't know if Marron was one of those people. In any case, the guy hadn't even had an orgasm in two weeks, so... well, that wasn't really much to do with anything, but... two weeks!

Maybe he just didn't think about it that much, as strange a suggestion as that seemed. As Gateau walked back to the other side of the room with the unlit lamp in his hand, he kept his eyes on Marron. Suggestions of oral sex and other such activities could perhaps wait until a more comfortable situation. They didn't recommend that relationships should be started with sex, but... well, Gateau had been after Marron for several years now, they'd at least _known_ each other for quite some time... something else occurred to Gateau's mind, he smirked. This wasn't the time to be thinking about such mundane things.

"Hey..."

"Yes?"

"You know how you sometimes get like... pictures of girls or whatever, they're all naked and hugging soft toys?"

Marron frowned, "Ye-es...?"

"You've got that big bear right behind you!"

"... What kind of thing are you suggesting..."

"Oh, c'mon. You were saying earlier about how soft he was, and stuff? Wouldn't it be better to hug him while naked?"

"That... that's not..."

The mental image was irresistible, Gateau couldn't resist just pressing the point a _little_.

"That's not what? It'd feel good, right? Plus it'd look damned cute... c'mon. For me?"

"Why would I have to do that kind of thing for you..."

Despite Marron's grumbling, he picked himself up into a kneel, crawled back over to where Alfred sat, and carefully took the bear into a languid type of hug. Marron glanced over his shoulder, about to ask what Gateau thought of that... the look on Gateau's face pretty much said it all, though.

For a second, Gateau's thought process froze. How much he wished he could capture that image in something more than just his mind's eye... nothing could even _hope_ to be as cute as that, he was quite convinced. Alfred, the gigantic cute brown fuzzy kind-looking bear (and brother of Gateau's beloved Cucumber). Marron Glacé, sexually repressed, sometimes psychotic, always overwhelmingly beautiful. Then Marron looked over his shoulder. That _needed_ to be a photo; Gateau didn't know or care where he could get a camera at that time of night but damn if he wasn't going to one day get Marron to pose like that when he had an opportunity to capture the image. Marron seemed to sink slightly against the soft outer fur, his bare skin serving as a kind of contrast to the overdone fluff of Alfred... and that glance, Marron's _eyes_... Gateau shuddered once more; the night had ceased to feel like it was real anymore.

Gateau took stock of the situation. He was naked in a room with a very naked Marron who seemed quite willing to put out for him all of a sudden. That was amazing in of itself. They shared the room with a soft toy almost as tall as Marron was. Said soft toy was currently getting more love than Gateau was. No, that wasn't right!

"Hmmn... that's really good, but how about a different pose?"

"It's not a _pose_..."

"You're doing that 'cause you wanted to be a little impressive, right? That's a pose! Anyway, whether or not it is or isn't... how about on your back? Lean up a little."

Feeling that it'd be pointless to refuse by that point, Marron slowly adjusted his position according to Gateau's words. His head pressed against Alfred's upper chest, and essentially, he was sat between the creature's legs. Gateau seemed to be considering something. He nodded, "Okay... open your legs a bit... there, li-... actually, a bit wider. Yeah, like that."

Marron's feet pressed flat against the floor, knees bent, legs eversoslightly pressed against his lower thighs. _That_ was a flagrant position, and he didn't realise quite how much it embarrassed him until he noticed Gateau's intent stare... the pose was bad enough but Gateau wasn't even trying to _hide_ that his gaze was fixed blatantly on Marron's crotch. A little lower than that? Marron wondered if it'd be alright to close his legs... he began to do so, but Gateau shook his head.

"No, no, keep like that, keep like that... you think that's an okay position?"

"It's... it's _shameless_..."

"So you're the one being shameless now. Gonna throw a fireball at yourself?"

"You were the one who requested such a thing..."

"You didn't haveta if you didn't want to. Anyway... I think that's a pretty good position, so..."

Turning his attention from Marron momentarily, Gateau picked up the oil lamp and unscrewed the top from the base. It seemed to be at least a quarter full of oil, from the looks of things... Gateau pressed his fingers to the cool metal bottom of the lamp, his hand quickly covering with the slick liquid. Figuring that was enough his hand then went to his erection, stroking it carefully to ensure he'd be as painless as possible. The oil felt pleasantly warm against him... he let out a slight moan, aware that Marron was watching him hawkishly.

The shadows were greater than the light, given that Marron was sat facing the fire and Gateau sat between one and the other, but... from the way the shadows danced, from the way Gateau moved his hand, from what he'd seen beforehand... Marron couldn't _help_ but fixate on Gateau's crotch, and the impressively large thing jutting out from said area; Gateau really wasn't trying to overcompensate for anything with his outgoing behaviour, was he? Even so... when it came to the practical things, when Marron was sitting there with Gateau between his legs getting ready to do things that made Marron flush to think about... even with the oil, surely it'd be painful?

Gateau had one hand on Marron's left knee, now. The other hand was slipping beneath Marron's thigh, shifting him up slightly; another slight movement, it turned out so that Marron was essentially splayed over Gateau's lap. Hands still vaguely slick from the oil grasped Marron's buttocks and held them apart... Marron pressed his arms back against Alfred, blushing furiously. He couldn't bring himself to look at Gateau for that moment, and it seemed that Gateau noticed this.

"You okay?"

"I... don't think that's something you should be asking just at this second..."

"I mean, you're lookin' away awful quickly... we don't _got_ to do this..."

Marron shook his head with a slight smile, turning back to look at Gateau.

"To stop now would be worse than having started in the first place. Please... _please_... continue..."

Gateau supposed that held some kind of positive connotation though he wasn't entirely sure what Marron meant, "...Worse... than...? ...Well, uh, I mean, if you're _sure_..."

A nod, "I am."

Mentally praying that he'd used enough oil to keep Marron satisfied (and unhurt), Gateau focused his attentions back down to his lap and what sat upon it. He pressed his cockhead against Marron's opening, one hand going towards guiding his movements... Marron made a slight noise at this, Gateau quickly looked up but Marron was staring off to the side, and didn't seem to be dissuading his actions any... breathing deeply, Gateau pushed himself forward; his hands went to Marron's hip and shoulder, wrapping his arms around any part of Marron he came across... Marron had remained unmoving as Gateau entered him, but once the movement was finished and Gateau clasped him tightly, Marron found himself with his fingers pressing into Gateau's shoulders and his legs arched tightly around Gateau's lower body.

"... A... h..."

"... Z'it... time to ask... 'f you're okay yet..."

"Uh... nn..."

Marron didn't seem to have a lot to say. Looking down at him, his eyes were closed and his expression seemed strained somehow... Gateau nuzzled down against Marron's chin, pressing kisses against him with a nervous rush of feeling. Was Marron alright...?

As for he himself, Marron wasn't sure _what_ he felt. The penetration had been interesting enough, a little uncomfortable in some ways but not quite as painful as Marron had suspected it could be. Of course, inner muscles had all kinds of ways of adjusting for size... but it was when Gateau held himself still that made Marron cry out and tense. He felt suddenly aware (and intimately so) of quite how large Gateau was, and he felt so _filled_... he couldn't adjust to the stillness and he wasn't sure if that was uncomfortable or not; more than anything else it was _strange_ , but there didn't seem to be any way to describe what he felt outside of the gasps that his throat seemed to issue almost without permission...

Then there was movement; Gateau's grip around Marron became a little less tight, he pulled back fractionally and moved forward with the same, and Marron cried out again but _differently_... Marron didn't realise how hot he felt until Gateau's movement brought with it a cold chill that seemed to wash over his entire body... he welcomed the feeling and he welcomed the motion and he wanted Gateau to _know_ that. Panting from the sudden rush of feeling (too much seemed to be happening internally all at once), Marron reached to hold Gateau's face in his two hands.

"Ga... Gate... au..."

"U-uhnn?"

"Move... it feels... _better_... when there's movement..."

"Ahnm..."

Gateau complied to this without question, soon falling into a rhythm of moving back and forth, still holding Marron but only that little bit tighter when he moved forward... and thinking of things being tight, it seemed to be the only thing that Gateau could focus on, just how amazingly tight Marron was... some movements would cause Marron's entire body to clench, and for that second he'd be _tighter_... Gateau could only continue to move back and forth but oh, when he felt that certain squeeze, he couldn't resist a breathy groan.

Marron closed his eyes, caught between Alfred's softness and Gateau's heat and power and feeling... as they continued, Marron let his legs drop from their tight grip, causing them more just to vaguely hold Gateau in place; this gave Gateau more freedom to pull back and push forward, seeming to force Marron against the bear just a bit harder with each forward thrust.

As much as Marron blushed and cried out, Gateau couldn't help but feel a fraction (or more) of that also; he couldn't look at Marron and not feel moved, every touch and movement and emotion he felt seemed to ring through his body and mind for being caused by _Marron_... this was it, Marron had finally given up or given in or was giving _something_... whatever... it didn't matter... well, perhaps it _did_ matter, but not _now_...

What had caused it? What had caused Marron to finally give in? The kiss from earlier in the day flickered through Gateau's mind. A determination to prove others wrong. He lifted the top half of his body up, holding Marron down by his shoulders... he looked down at Marron, really _looked_.

Just who was this for, anyway...

Was it something mutual? Was it something Marron wanted to prove? Was it something Gateau wanted to prove? If so, if there _was_ something to prove, prove to each other... just what was it...?

" _Why don't you make a resolution to restrain yourself?_ "

Gateau slowed in his movements until he was barely moving at all; Marron had been contentedly moaning and crying out his passions, and he seemed to only continue as Gateau changed his speed.

"Ga-... Gateau... n-not-... not _slower_..."

It seemed that Gateau's intention was to change position. He carefully shifted down onto his side, then onto his back, he somewhere beside Alfred and Marron still on top of him. Both were breathing heavily but Marron seemed to find the movement so much harder to cope with... he eventually sat with his legs loosely knelt on either side of Gateau, and his hands against Gateau's lower chest. Gateau himself took hold of Marron's wrists.

"Like that..."

"Uhn...?"

"Earlier... coupla days ago... 'member, we were all on about resolutions..."

Remembering even the past few hours seemed difficult in Marron's lust-hazed mind, but he nodded all the same.

"Ah-hahn...?"

"I said... I said you sh'd be more outgoin' and stuff... so... you... you _have_ been, what... what with the kissin' and the sex and all..."

"I-... it hasn't been entirely... so driven..."

"So yeah, you... you said I should be more restrained 'n stuff. I was just thinkin' that."

Marron trembled powerfully, feeling a sudden change in temperature from not being sandwiched between the soft toy and Gateau's deliciously hot body anymore, and the lack of movement, the lack of _movement_... gravity played on his position and he was barely able to move even to look at Gateau, especially on realising that Gateau was in fact balls-deep within him... quick mental flashes occurred to Marron, recalling seeing Gateau's erection, being a little perturbed by its size... and now that was entirely within him. Any movement would only be to displace and replace it... but how could Gateau remain so still?

"That's... that's nothing to do with this..."

Gateau reached up with one hand, stroking his way up Marron's arm and shoulder.

"Na-ah... does... see... like this, we can... we can do that, can't we...?"

"Do... do what...?"

"Me... I can be restrained... I can sit here and do nothin' if you want restrained... n' you can be more outgoing... _you_ can be the one doing th' shameless things fer once..."

Marron's expression was blank as this sank in.

"Gateau..."

"S'frustratin' when I don't move, right? So maybe you're... you're gettin' frustrated... right? If you wanna move... I'm not gonna stop you from movin'..."

For just a moment that seemed an almost impossible thing to ask; of course Marron wanted the movement, but... his body felt so heavy and unresponsive and entirely at the mercy of the feelings he was receiving from Gateau... his hands tightened into fists, "... What kind of thing... would you expect..."

"Jus' back'n forth'd be good, wouldn't it?"

Hands flat against the defined grooves of Gateau's well-developed torso, Marron found himself almost clawing once more as he managed to push with his knees and force himself into some kind of upward movement. He couldn't hold that for long, and fell back down again... that made Gateau moan in itself, and it also sated the need for movement... but to keep that up? To do that over? Over and over? Marron didn't know how long he could manage that. Even so, he could only try... Gateau had to pick the worst moments to pick up on his logic and turn it back at him, didn't he?

Surely it wasn't difficult to pick a rhythm and stick with it... up and down, back and forth, side to side, whatever it took? Gateau was obviously getting whatever pleasure he needed from resting back and letting Marron do what he felt he needed, but each movement only served to frustrate Marron further... when he fell back with that slight degree more force he'd fall entirely back onto Gateau's erection, still allowing it to slide quite easily inside and outside of him... and inside, surely there was something... some kind of touch, some kind of point, some kind of _feeling_... when Marron leant back as he pushed himself down as far as he could go, the feeling seemed to intensify and numb him further. Numb, so numb... the feeling spread a little further with each movement, and that was something he was starting to crave more and more desperately. He wanted it... he _needed_ it... he wanted the heat and the warmth, he longed for the numb feeling to turn to something he _knew_ was coming... surely it was the journey more than the destination but at that moment the journey felt so _frustrating_ , and at that moment, Marron didn't _care_ if it was what he always shouted at Gateau for, if it had been what had put him off thinking about Gateau seriously in the first place... to do shameful things, to act shamelessly, to do serious things in a frivolous manner...

To 'relax'... to 'loosen up'... to be more outgoing...

The determination allowed Marron a little more strength, and he found himself holding tightly to Gateau's hands while he moved his hips in such a constant fashion to pound himself almost gleefully against Gateau's crotch, to feel the thick cock inside him and to _want_ Gateau to come... to want Gateau to come, to want to come himself... to act with abandon, and to find some kind of small freedom because of it.

Perhaps it _was_ embarrassing, but at that moment, Marron no longer cared. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. That didn't matter anymore. To get hung up on it being embarrassing... that was to take focus away from what it really _felt_ like, wasn't it? If he wanted to deny himself, then surely the only person he was denying things from was, of course, himself... and Gateau only seemed to support him as he lifted just that bit further then pressed himself back once more... pushing with his knees and perhaps even with his feet at some points, it didn't matter anymore. Anything to reach that point, that peak, that climax... then somehow, amidst all of that, he looked down at Gateau, and _smiled_. It couldn't be embarrassing anymore.

Gateau let out a sharp gasp, wishing to smile back at Marron but unsure if he was even able to anymore... Marron was a potent temptation at the best of times, but the way he was now... Gateau hadn't ever really thought he'd see Marron like that outside of his salacious fantasies... Marron wasn't that kind of person, surely...? However, it seemed that something had made him like that. Some _one_ had made him like that? The realization that he could have had such an effect on Marron made Gateau give up any hope he had of restraining himself, and he was moving again, rolling onto his side and taking Marron with him.

By that point they were too much a mass of writhing limbs and wayward emotions to try to work each other back into a sensible position; just as long as it was physically possible without too much pain, it worked for the two of them. Marron ended up leant against the floor, his legs held apart and _now_ he didn't have to request movement or take any for himself... he was moved from leaning on his side to his chest and Gateau held Marron's legs so firmly his knees weren't even touching the ground; his thrusts were suddenly more brutal than they had been, and Gateau's cries that touch more _needing_... Marron was pushed forth and Gateau pressed him to the carpet, holding him firmly around his chest and his movements almost spasmodic in their force.

Their breathing echoed alongside each other, deep and loud as it suddenly seemed to be. Marron let out some kind of gasp or cry with each outward breath, and Gateau was almost _snarling_ now... such bestial passions. So feral. So _primal_... and indeed, what was more base and depraved than their current actions?

In the end, Marron wasn't quite sure just what it was that had finally brought him to his climax; there wasn't anything specific that Gateau seemed to suddenly do differently or harder or faster... perhaps it was just a case of being unable to take anymore, as some things sometimes were. And so Marron reached his climax first, pushed over the brink from the unyielding power of Gateau's hips; it was powerful and it was intense, Marron almost attempting to curl up within himself as the numb feeling suddenly became something burning, something focused, something he couldn't control anymore.

The fact that Gateau didn't even seem to notice when Marron came served only as proof to how far he'd managed to drive himself. Pressed tightly to the body beneath him, he'd felt Marron tense and convulse below him, felt Marron shift and _squeeze_ and he wanted so badly to claim him, to take him, he wanted so badly to prove that he _could_ shove Marron Glacé to the floor and fuck him into incoherence that he didn't seem to quite realize when that finally _was_ achieved; Marron lay suddenly still, the ability to move or anything at _all_ felt like it'd been expelled from his body as soon as he'd reached his climax.

Marron couldn't keep track of time after that; all he was aware of was the constant rush of blood that seemed to set his mind ringing, the constant pulse of his heart in his chest and of Gateau atop of him... then, after what seemed like a period of some self-contained little reality with no concept or word for the passing of time, the rhythm was broken and Gateau came, his final cry as desperate as it was passionate as it was incoherent; he thrust as deeply as his strength would allow him, then fell forward in that position as said strength suddenly vanished.

The two of them lay silent except for their heavy breathing for quite some time. Neither had the will nor the urge to move, speak, or check how long they remained in that position... lights seemed to be dancing in front of Marron's eyes, it took him a couple of minutes to blink and realise that that was the fire he was staring at; he wondered if he should attempt moving... even the suggestion to his body returned a firm refusal. Gateau was still on top of him and Gateau was heavy, and Marron's body didn't seem too keen on the idea of moving him if he was still a dead weight. So he waited a few minutes longer before attempting any kind of communication.

"... Ga... teau...?"

No reply for long enough for Marron to wonder if Gateau's exhaustion had sent him to sleep already, "Gateau... are you... awake?"

Words seemed strange to hear in the suddenly quiet room. The flickering of the fire and the breathing that was finally steadying itself seemed almost unbearably quiet after the groans and the moans and the cries and the near-screams of earlier... then Gateau managed to reply, just.

"Uhn... hn."

"... You're... slightly heavy..."

"Uhhhn..."

Gateau fell onto his side, still embedded deep within Marron. Marron fell with him, and this provoked a little laugh from Gateau as he next spoke.

"Heheh... that's about s'much more movements yer gonna get from me..."

"I'm not being almost crushed any more... that's a start."

A sleepy silence.

"Hmn... Marron?"

"Mmm?"

"You think... anyone else heard? I mean... that brother of yours is like, what, two doors down?"

"Oh! My brother! Perhaps I might have worried him... and might not Eclair wonder where you are?"

Gateau attempted a shrug, "After that party earlier I'm pretty sure that nobody'll be surprised if they find us both missing, let alone if they _heard_ us... as for Alfred... well, I dunno what they'll think if they realise we brought _him_ along."

Making the effort to change the direction of his line of sight, Marron looked across at Alfred.

"He still has a nice face. A nice, kind face... the kind of bear a child would be delighted with... and he had to watch something that a kind teddybear probably wouldn't want to watch..."

"Maybe he can tell Cucumber all about it."

Marron looked over his shoulder at Gateau... they smiled at each other, Marron leant his head back comfortably against the floor.

"Perhaps, perhaps. Though... Gateau?"

"Mmm?"

"The things you were talking about... about the resolutions... me being outgoing, you being restrained... I... I'm sorry for that. Please don't restrain yourself too much on my account."

"Haha, it's frustrating when it's you on the receiving end, isn't it?"

Marron didn't say anything, but his blush and silence said enough.

"Well, I could say to that 'don't you be too outgoing', but I'm pretty keen on you when you're all flustered and stuff... so... you be as outgoing as you want, but... only be outgoing with me, okay?"

A deep and contented sigh, "... That sounds like a reasonable condition."

"Sounds good to me."

The conversation fell into silence, then came the sound of Marron yawning, long and loudly. Gateau smirked, "Tired?"

"You should be as aware of that as anybody else. We should perhaps go back to our bedrooms..."

Gateau shook his head, reaching for Marron's shoulders to prevent him making any kind of movements that would cause them to separate for the night.

"No way! We can stay here for tonight, can't we? Nobody says we can't..."

"Sleeping on a floor does little to help one's posture..."

"You said earlier that Alfred would make a good bed, right? And besides, there's a sofa, too. You can take your pick, really."

Despite the irresistible allure of either the sofa or Alfred, Marron didn't move. Movement could come later; coherence had returned, but lethargy remained and the thought of moving even a few feet across the room seemed a difficult one to even think about entertaining...

"Perhaps we could just stay on the floor. It's only one night."

Gateau offered no argument to that.

"Ah... Gateau?"

"Mm?"

"We still have a week or so until the new year, don't we..."

"As far as I remember, yeah. Why?"

"Well... resolutions... the kinds that we would make for each other..."

"Yeeeah?"

"We... wouldn't really have to make resolutions if they were for actions we were already accustomed to, would we? So... perhaps this week... perhaps we can use it to get used to... to things..."

"By that, do you mean 'we can spend the next week having mad sex'?"

A brief silence, "... I wouldn't... agree or... _disagree_... to that..."

"Hey, I could always restrain myself, take up a life of celibacy..."

"Alright, I-... I agree. I wouldn't mind if we were able to relax together... if we perhaps spent time together..."

"If we slept with each other more?"

"... That... too."

"Heh, sounds good to me."

Gateau wrapped his arms around Marron's shoulders, pulling him close. Sleep was so irresistible at that moment... but then again, so was Marron, and his allure didn't fade.

Nothing more was said after that, and Marron's deep and steady breathing led Gateau to believe that he'd fallen asleep, at last. Moving around a little to make him more comfortable, rolling him onto his back... yes. Marron had fallen asleep. Gateau took the opportunity to hold him close and lean his head on Marron's shoulder, closing his own eyes... so it'd taken a couple of years, a couple of resolutions, but finally he could cross that one off the list. He'd finally bedded (floored? Teddybear'd?) Marron Glacé, and only good things could follow on from that.

So what would the resolutions for the coming year be...

Well, there was still the matter of getting Marron to scream his name. That would be fun to try and keep.

As he drifted off into sleep, Gateau smiled as he remembered something that could be legitimately added as a _new_ resolution...

He still hadn't asked Marron about oral sex yet, had he?

That, he smiled to himself, could wait until the new year... and besides. There was a week between their current time and the new year.

A lot could happen in a _day_ , let alone a _week_...

Whatever could happen, Gateau was looking forward to it... and on that simple thought, he finally joined Marron in a satisfied slumber.

 

 _fin_


End file.
